Bermuda Chemistry
by Kitsanisu
Summary: What happens when three friends slowly fade to one? Riku's mixed feelings, along with some twisted lies from Kairi, cause his friendship with Sora and Kairi to dissolve. What can he do to regain their trust? Mild KairixRiku, KairixSora, and more.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** I thought of this idea last night. Nina-Lynn helped me with the title a little bit, so I wanted to throw a quick thanks out to her. So... Thanks Nina!

Anywho, the story has some minor Kairi-bashing, but I'm a Kairi fan, so there won't be too much. She's also a little out of character, being the tyipical dramatic teenage girlinstead of the all-innocent image of perfection. I'm already working on the next chapter, and I'll have it up as soon as I can.

It takes place a little after Kingdom Hearts 2, but I doubt that there will be any spoilers. I'm ignoring the last few seconds of the ending. They're just staying on the island. Well, I'm done talking about it now... >.> Enjoy!

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters or worlds! They belong entirely to SQUARESOFT. The characters that aren't featured in the game, the ones you've never heard of, those are mine_.

**

* * *

Bermuda Chemistry - Chapter One**

"But... You told me you loved me..."

"I know... And I'm sorry. Really, I am.. It's just..."

"Just what...?"

The girl edged in, reaching for the boy's hand.

"Kairi, don't. Please.." the boy said quietly, withdrawing. He was doing it again.. He always did this. Always crept back into his shell every time something went wrong.

"Riku, I want to be here for you. You've got to tell me what's going on," she said, desperate tears choking her words.

He ran a hand through sleek silver hair, sighing and praying that his words would come out right.

"Kairi, listen. This won't work. I can't hide this from Sora. He still likes you, and we both know it. I can't lie to him like this.."

Now it was the girl's turn to back away.

"That's what this is about? Sora?" The tears disappeared, replaced by an indignant stare. "Riku, I already told you; Sora won't find out."

"Don't try to twist this, Kairi!" the boy said, voice rising dangerously, causing the girl to recoil once more. He sighed, voice softening, and looked to the sand. "I won't lie to him.. I can't."

Ignoring Riku's plea for her to just accept that the relationship they had been secretly carrying on behind Sora's back was now over, the red-head pushed him further. "Why not? I can. If you _really_ loved me, you'd do it," she told him, narrowing her eyes furociously.

"Maybe I don't love you enough to ruin my friendship with Sora. If you can't just deal with it, maybe _you_ don't really love _me_.."

He looked tired, like he really wanted to drop this conversation, but, even so, Kairi was blinded. She was furious and hurt and guilty... "You know that's not true."

"If I did, would I have said it?" he asked, too quickly for Kairi's liking. "It's over. I want to be friends and everything, but I feel like a traitor being with you when Sora's loved you since we were little. We've grown up, I know, but Sora and I were best friends before you even came to the island.."

The sun was setting, painting a beatiful picture in the sky. An ironic scene for a break-up. Everything was so happy. The colors of the clouds were bright and cheerful, the air was warm and smelling of the salty ocean, and a gentle breeze blew, creating a relaxed environment for the islanders.

The awkward silence set in as Kairi stared at Riku, her expression of bewilderment looking incredibly strange compared to Riku's distracted one. Obviously, he had other things on his mind. That set Kairi's temper off even further. If he was going to dump her, the least he could do was pay attention!

"Riku, I don't know what I was thinking dating you in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, Sora's a better friend. You're just-"

"Shut up. This was your idea in the first place, and I should have never gone along with it." He was now sending her that icy death-glare he had perfected over time. "You just don't know when to quit."

Kairi, who had just been angered by the fact that he wouldn't look at her, was now unnerved that he had. However, she held his gaze with hers, relentlessly delving further.

"Five months later, you decide you can't handle it? What happened to cause the sudden change? Did you have a sweet little heart-to-heart with your bestest buddy?"

"I said shut up, damn it!" he yelled.

"Or what, you'll go tell Sora?"

"There's a lot to tell. I intend on starting tomorrow."

"You do that." With those last words, she turned on her heel and stormed through the sand towards the dock where her boat was.

Riku, whose boat was, unfortunately, located on the same dock, stared after her for a moment before turning and heading to his favorite spot -- _his_ Paopu tree.

"I'll be home late tonight.." he muttered tohimself, swinging up onto the low-lying branch and laying back. He closed his eyes and took slow, deep breaths to calm himself.

_That_... was a **_disaster._**

* * *

Well, that's chapter one! Hope you liked it, and if you didn't, please review. Well, you can review anyway. I'm up for criticism. Thanks alot!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes from me: **Okay, this chapter was the result of a TON of sugar and a creative spur. Thank the sugar though.

I think the chapter's uber-cute, and strays away from the angst a little. The next chapter will be a little more dramatic. I'm not going to say why though, because you'll probably figure it out by the end of this chapter.

Well... I guess that's really all I have to say. Enjoy!

* * *

"Heads up!"

Aqua eyes snapped open in alarm as the teen lept into the air, his branch left wavering beneath him. An over-sized blue ball headed straight for him at an impressive speed, but, being Riku, he was able to catch it. He landed with a muffled thud in the sand about six feet away from his branch.

A blonde teen, fifteen to be exact, made his way across the bridge towards Riku.

"Sorry about that.. I don't really know what happened," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous grin towards Riku.

The older boy responded, a lopsided yawn interfering slightly, with a grin. "I could've guessed that was your pass, Tidus. Straighten it up, man!" he joked, tossing the large, lumpy sphere back to his friend.

"Yeah.. What are you doing over here so early anyway? I thought you slept in all the time."

It was true. Riku was known to sleep far into the afternoons on weekends, but he had barely gotten any sleep last night. After the 'Kairi incident,' he had lay down on his branch, flipping and flopping restlessly as it got darker and darker. When he finally had gotten a few winks, he was attacked by some seagulls and decided that trying to sleep was just a futile attempt.

"Rough night. Slept here," he replied simply.

Luckily, Tidus wasn't nosey, so he didn't ask about why it had been a rough night. He only nodded, turning back to the rest of the blitzball team.

"Well, I've got to get back to practice.. See you around."

"Hey, Tidus, wait!"

"Yeah?" The blonde stopped, looking at Riku strangely. It was too early for he and Riku to be talking (not that they talked much anyway), especially during a practice.

"Have you seen Sora? I need to ask him something."

"Nope, sorry. I hate to rush, but I've really got to go. Bye." He hopped off the side of the bridge and headed back to the center of the beach to continue his little game of throwing, catching, and kicking. Fun.

Riku frowned. What time was it anyway? And regardless of the time, why hadn't his mom or dad called him yet? At the dock, his boat seemed misplaced and lonely. One just never seemed like it was enough.

There was only one way to fix that.

He crossed the bridge, hopped off the roof of the small shack, and made his way towards the dock, avoiding the blitzball players at all costs. Morning practices meant bad moods.

He untied his tiny wooden boat and kicked it off the side of the dock, jumping in and grabbing the paddles.

"We're getting a motorboat for Christmas." he mumbled, dropping said paddles in the water. "This is ridiculous."

* * *

Meanwhile, there was a crash in the kitchen downstairs. "Sora! Honey, get down here. I need your help with something!"

The lanky, spiky-haired teen rolled off his bed, landing on his backside and rubbing his eyes warily. "Five more minutes!"

"No, Sora, get down here now!"

He yawned, standing up and stumbling to his dresser. After he had arrived home from two years of saving the worlds, his mom had taken it upon herself to clean out his drawers. He had outgrown most of his clothes by then, anyway.

He pulled a pair of khaki cargo shorts out and pulled them on.

"Sora!"

"I'm coming!"

He trotted down the hallway and pushed the kitchen door open. A pause.

"Sweetie, please do something about your dog."

His Basenji, Gypsy, was encased in a trashcan by his mother. Apparently, she wasn't fazed at all, because her ears perked and her curly tail wagged insanely as soon as she saw Sora step through the door.

The boy couldn't help but laugh.

"What did she do to deserve the trashcan incarceration?" he asked as she lifted the mesh prison from over the dog's head and watched her jump into Sora's arms.

"Look around, honey," she told him, pointing to the trash that was scattered all over her floor. "She tipped it over, pulled the bag out, and, last but not least, ran around the house with it, leaving a trail of trash wherever she went."

He scratched Gypsy behind the ears and shifted her to his side as he looked around the corner of the kitchen.

Yup. There was trash, all right. Everywhere.

"Gyyypsyyy." he moaned, exaggerating her name to add emphasis that, of course, the dog would catch. Her reply was a yelp in his ear and a lick across the face.

Sora let out a short chuckle, ceasing as his mother sent him a weary look. "Sora, clean this mess up, and take your dog out."

Whenever she made a mess, she was Sora's dog. Every other time, she was the family dog. Hm. Funny how things work.

"Yes, ma'am." he said, setting Gypsy in a pen that was also known as the pantry with a gate.

"You know, I don't know how I lived in this house, with that dog, for two years, without you.." she sighed.

"Me neither," her son stated bluntly as he grabbed a banana peel from under the table.

She smiled down at him; Sora knew that look. His eyes widened, "Mom, don't. Mom.. Mom, please," he pleaded, but to no avail. She tackled him into a hug, pulling him into her lap, and ruffling his hair. "Mooooooooom!" he groaned, trying to pull away (which failed miserably and resulted in her holding him in a vice grip). "Fifteen-year-old boys don't hug their moms!" he whined.

She scoffed, ruffling his spikes again. "You're no fifteen-year-old. You're my baby. My little Sora-bug who used to crawl into bed with me every night when he got scared of the monster under his bed.. My Tinker-tot who used to bring his friends over just so that we could play pirates and I was the bad guy.. My little Bumpkin.." She sniffed. Sora stole a glance up at his mother's young face; she was about to cry. "You're my Sora. And my baby's been off saving worlds and growing up..."

"Mom, don't... Mom?" He scoffed lightly as she dug her face into his shoulder. "Mom, please.. Come on, don't cry.." he said gently.

She straigtened up, grinning as she wiped her eyes. "I love you," she told him, kissing his cheek.

He blushed, exposing his goofy grin as she eased him off and stood back up.

"I love you, too," he said with another chuckle. He was as tall as she wasnow, he noticed when he stood.

She pushed his shoulder gently with a laugh. "Take your dog out. She's been cooped up in here for days."

"But, Mom, don't you need help with this?" he asked, gesturing towards all of the trash.

She shook her head, light brown bangs sent flying at the sudden motion. "No, Sweetie. Go ahead. Take Gypsy. You can go to Destiny with Riku and Kairi if you like."

Sora smiled widely. "Thanks, Mom," he said, stepping over the trashy mess and over to Gypsy's pantry.

When he opened the gate, the dog didn't spring out like she normally would've. She just sat there; ears perked and tail wagging.

His mom giggled and crossed her arms, watching her son attempt to bring the dog from the pantry.

"Gypsy? Come on, girl! Heeere, Gypsy. Gypsy? Gyyyypsyyy.. Come oooooon!" he whined, patting his legs, whistling, and doing whatever else was meant to encourage dogs. He turned around and looked at his mother, who was looking at the dog with a twisted, sardonic smile.

It was almost surprising that the boy hadn't expected the dog to tackle him once his back was turned.

Sora... Meet the floor.

His mother erupted in laughter as the dog took her place on her master's back. Sora groaned, tilting his head to the side so that his cheek rested on the hardwood floor.

"Gyyypsyyy..."

There was a knock on the front door.

"Just a second!" his mom called, sending Sora and Gypsy one last grin as she stepped through the door towards the den.

Sora rolled over, sending Gypsy tumbling sideways. He rubbed his bare back, the Basenji at his heels when he stepped through the door after his mother.

"Yes, he and Gypsy are-" she stopped talking to the open door as Gypsy pranced to the door.

Sora tried to sneak a look, but his mom held the door at an angle, sheilding the guest from view.

"-Right here.." she finished with a chuckle. She looked to the boy. "Sora, it's for you, sweetie."

The guest entered the den with a wry smile.

"Oh... Hey, Kairi."

* * *

M'kay, well, there's chapter 2. Review if you like. Chapter three is already in progress. I'll have it up ASAP. Thaaakies. 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Chapter three.. Okay, so this chapter skips back and forth a little bit, and it also introduces another character! Yay! FYI, I love multiple characters. It's an insane addiction;

Like Vault. oO

ANYWHO, I worked pretty hard on this chapter, so you had better like it! Grr.. J/k. Nyah. Hope ya' like it.

* * *

The silver-haired youth hissed out a string of curse words as he stormed away from the docks of the main island's marina. The seagulls had it in for him. He just knew it. 

This time, when they went in for the kill, he dropped his paddles in the water and dove forwards, slicing a considerably large cut in the middle of his hand with only God knows what. Damn those rats with wings.

He probably looked pretty strange to all the visitors on the island -- one hand clutching the bloody opposite and the visage that just screamed "I hate everything."

Needless to say, he didn't get any "Oh, he's such a _sweet _boy!" comments on the way to Sora's.

After ten minutes, he had calmed himself down. Fifteen minutes, he was gnawing on his thumb, thinking of what he was going to tell Sora. Twenty, _how_ he was going to say it. Forty minutes, and he was standing in his friend's driveway, turning to leave again.

But no! It just got better and better.

"Oh, Riku! Hey, hon!" Sora's mom called, waving and bouncing over to the teen. "Did you come here for Sora?" she asked, smiling widely. There was just something about Riku that she adored.

Riku froze, delivering an obviouslyforced laugh. "Actually, yeah, I was," he told her. He couldn't resist thinking a quick, 'Oh my God, this is going to be worse than last night..." before he actually formed his three-letter sentence:"Is he home?"

"Hm.." She noticed Riku's lack of composure. That was definitely unfamiliar. "Is something wrong?" she asked, ignoring his question and surveying him up and down. Her eyes landed on the younger boy's injured hand. "Riku!" She gasped. "What did you do to your hand!" she demanded, snatching up his wrist. "Come inside and let me fix that."

Riku was mortified. He knew what would happen if he set foot in that house, because he knew Saiyah.

"Um, no, Saiyah.. I'm fine. Really, I need to talk to Sora..."

"You're going to let me fix your hand first," she said firmly, dragging him by the wrist into the kitchen. "Sit."

Riku looked at the chair. Obviously, Sora wasn't there -- Gypsy wasn't. "Saiyah, I have to talk to Sora. My hand'll be fine."

Saiyah frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Listen here, tough guy; you'll have to deal with Sora's mom for a few minutes. You're not going anywhere until you've got some medicine on that cut." She grabbed his shoulders and forced him into the chair. "Sit."

The teen blinked. He should've been used to it by now. The time away from home must've led him to forget.

"Erm... Yes, ma'am."

Saiyah pulled out a first aid kit and knelt in front of him, her long skirt still flowing a good was over her knees. "How did you do this...?" she asked, flinching when she removed the pathetic excuse for a bandage. It _was_ a nasty cut.

"It's a long story..." he answered quietly, wincing as she put pressure on the center.

She quickly apologized, tenderly going over the cut with a damp cloth. "Hey... Tell me what happened."

"I'd really rather not..." he murmured, lowering his gaze.

She bent further and locked eyes with him. "That was an order."

Riku stared at her for a minute. Who, exactly, did she think she was?

She bared down on the cut, another small hiss escaping the boy.

Obviously, she thought she was in charge of him, and he wasn't going to argue.

"Well, it all started when we got back to Destiny..."

* * *

"Sora, you're such a kid," Kairi said, giggling. 

The boy was on his hands and knees in the sand, wrestling with Gypsy.The dogwriggled out of his grasp and pounced on his back, barking as he received a mouthful of sand.

He came up sputtering and coughing. "Yuck! Gypsy!" he complained, spitting and pouting at the sight of the dog who was now getting pampered by the red-head.

Sora shook the sand out of his hair and crawled to sit next to his friend. "Something wrong?" he asked, leaning in to look at her face.

Kairi wasn't smiling anymore. In fact, she looked quite serious. She didn't answer Sora immediately, violet-tinged eyes glazed over in thought. "...Sora?"

The boy bent a little lower and finally caught the girl's gaze. "Yeah?" He looked confused (which is perfectly reasonable, considering she hadn't looked that serious since the battle with Xemnas).

Kairi let her eyes linger on his, her mind buzzing with thoughts of all the things she could do to get back at Riku. There was one that she liked most of all. It would absolutely _kill _him.

"Kair-!"

He was cut off. He knew Kairi could be impulsive, but _whoa_.

* * *

"..And I came here to find Sora. I wanted to tell him, and I owe him a pretty huge apology," Riku finished. 

Saiyah nodded. "Yeah... You do.." She paused, taking a sip from her cup as she processed everything Riku had told her.

The pair were now sitting across form each other at the kitchen table. (The trash had been cleaned and the house was nearly spotless.) Surprisingly, once Saiyah had gotten him to start, he didn't want to stop. He didn't realize he had been there for an hour, just talking and talking and talking...

Saiyah was a good listener, but she was also very opinionated. Sometimes it worried Riku a little, just _how_ opinionated she was. "You know, I never did like that Kairi girl as much as I liked you..."

Riku looked up at her. "Seriously?"

"Mmhmm. She always seemed like the type of person who would do something like that.. The way I see it, you just fell victim to a pretty face and a cute giggle." She smiled (Riku swore she could pass as a teenager when she did) and nodded. "I believe you."

He felt immensely relieved to hear those three words. At least someone was on his side.

Still, something wasn't right...

"Hey, Saiyah? Where is Sora?"

Here, the woman frowned. "He's at the beach... With Kairi."

"K-... Kairi!"

Whatever feelings had just been relieved returned, increasing ten-fold. He slumped forwards on the table and held his head with his uninjured hand. "Oh shit..."

Saiyah got up and set her cup in the sink. "I'm sure Sora will understand, hon. Just explain it to him like you explained it to me..." she reasoned, leaning against the counter.

Riku shook his head. "Kairi's probably already told him everything.. It probably wasn't true, but she still got here first.."

"Stupid seagulls.." Saiyah mumbled with a wry smile.

Riku scoffed, a tiny flicker of a grin appearing momentarily. "Yeah. Thanks, Saiyah."

"No problem, sweetie. And don't worry; I'll talk to Sora for you," she told him with a more motherly smile. Patting his shoulder, she added , "Go home and get some rest. It's obvious you slept in a tree..."

Heh. Mothers...

"Alright.." He stood and headed towards the door. "And Saiyah?"

"Mm, yeah, babe?" she answered. She was already back in action, grabbing pots and pans to use for dinner.

"Thanks again..."

"Anytime."

And with that, Riku was on his way home, ready for a pillow.

* * *

Okay, well.. There's that. Please review! I'm not gonna bug you about it, but I aaaaaam gonna say that it'll really speed things along. I get bored with my stories easily, and I'm inching towards boredom with this one.. Mrowr. Thanks for reading! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes from me:** Yes, yes, it took a while.. I'm sorry. Don't kill me.** 0.0**

There's not really much to say about this chapter, so I'll just let you read it..

Once again, thank you Oblivion for helping. You're fantazmous (and that's a good thing).

* * *

...It would absolutely _kill _him. 

"Kair-!"

In one swift movement, Kairi had leaned in, Sora's hair laced through her fingers, and pulled one of his arms around her waist in a kiss.

And not some peck. She'd had experience with Riku, and it showed. That was a _kiss._

Even if Sora wasn't really prepared, and even if he didn't really completely return it, she had still done it. She had perfect timing, too. As soon as their lips met, Selphie trotted around the corner humming some random tune and licking an ice cream cone.

By now, Sora had figured it out. His wide eyes had closed and Kairi's hand didn't need to support him.

_Perfect._

But wait.. Why was Kairi kissing him? Hadn't she been the one he had been chasing for so many years? What suddenly changed her mind..?

Reluctantly, he pulled away from the kiss, the girl's eyes opening and staring at him with some sort of puzzled expression. "What's wrong Sora?" she asked him with all innocence.

His brow furrowed and he looked at the sand. Something just didn't fit.

((Gypsy was chasing crabs through the surf, otherwise, she'd've had a barking fit. She wasn't incredibly fond of Kairi, even if she _was_ great at scratching that one place behind her ear.))

"..What... just happened?" Sora finally managed, looking back up to her, sapphire meeting amethyst.

Kairi wasn't stupid. She may have been a little blind, but she had made a plan. Her story was flawless. Impenatrable.

"I kissed you Sora. Is.. that bad?"

"Well, no," he said bluntly, grinning sheepishly and lifting a hand to his head, "but I didn't think you liked me.. You know.. _Like that_.." He didn't really want to point anything out (of course, he had wanted the kiss) but he at least wanted some kind of clue to why she had done it..

She waved a hand dismissively. "Of course I do, silly. Haven't you heard of 'playing hard-to-get?'"

Hard to get? Try impossible to get!

He was still a little lost, but accepted the reply, nodding and smiling as Gypsy trotted back over with a pitiful crab in her mouth. He laughed as she sat at their feet, wagging her tail and staring at him expectantly. As he scratched behind the dog's ear, he chuckled again.

Kairi smiled. "What's so funny, huh?" she asked, poking him in the side.

He shook his head, chestnut spikes bouncing. "It's just kind of odd. I always thought you had a thing for Riku, so I just kinda backed down. And when I do, something like that happens." Gypsy ran back into the surf for another victim.

The red-head scoffed, rolling her violet eyes. "Oh, please, Sora. I don't have a thing for Riku." She toyed with the bottom of her skirt - a nervous habit. It may have been easy for her to lie to Sora (he was so gullible!), but lying about loving Riku was a different story entirely.

Luckily, the brunette took the bait. Better yet, another little frame bounced into view.

"Kairi!"

The girl turned to see Selphie running at them. Gypsy still offered no bark, occupied by her little crustaceans. "Oh, hey Selphie!" Kairi responded with a smile as the girl closed the space between them. Sora blushed deeply and glued his eyes to the dog.

_'Don't bring it up, don't bring it up, don't bring it up!'_

Riku had often referred to Selphie as a hyperactive squirrel. In Sora's opinion, he couldn't've been more right. He pulled his knees to his chest and hugged his shins, resting his chin on his knees. He started to wonder exactly how quickly Selphie could spread the news of his and Kairi's little 'moment' over the entire island. Words from her mouth spread like a plague.

"Hiya, guys!" the auburn-haired girl chirped with a knowing grin.

"Hey Selphie.." Sora murmured, an uneasy grin creeping onto his face slowly. "Great to see you."

"Thanks, Sora. Kairi, can you come over here with me for a minute. I wanna talk to you in private," she said, placing the hand that wasn't holding her ice cream on her hip.

Kairi nodded, returning the grin. "Sure, Selph. Be right back," she added to Sora, pushing herself off of the sand and letting the other girl drag her across to the small hut that lead to Riku's spot.

After getting Kairi through the door, she stared at her with that **I-know-what-happened-so-go-ahead-and-spill** look. "I didn't know you and Sora were a couple.." she sang.

Kairi shook her head, still smiling. "We're not really official. We were just... _experimenting,"_ she said carefully.

Selphie flipped her oddly-curled hair with another grin, taking a bite out of her ice cream cone. "Well.. I think it's cute. You have my blessing."

"Thanks, Selphie. It's really hot in here though, so I'm going back outside. You want to come hang out with us for a little while?" Kairi asked, pushing the door open.

The shorter girl nodded, finishing off the cone. "Okay. You sure I'm not imposing on you two lover-birds or anything?" She skipped out into the sand, looking to Sora's spiky hair.

"Nah, you'll be alright. Sora probably wants to play with Gypsy anyway.."

With that being said, she walked with Selphie back to her spot. The boy raised his eyebrows slightly at the new guest and stood up, dusting the back of his shorts off. "I'm going to see if I can catch something. Gypsy's getting good at it," he told the girls, starting off to the surf to join the dog.

Selphie lit up as a new thought struck her. When Sora was out of earshot, she turned to Kairi with bright eyes. "Hey, Kairi..? What about Riku?"

* * *

The sun was starting to go down, and Riku, the poor thing, had just the luck to wake up as it was getting dark. Naps always seemed to mess with his head.. 

His dad had already 'scolded' him for not coming home the previous night, and he was sent to his room. That worked just fine for Riku because his bed was in his room, and that's exactly where he landed himself. What must have been hours later, he sat up, finally awake. He was slightlydisoriented blinking to adjust his eyes to the sunset's light flowing in.

He decided to go for a walk before he went to bed, just to reflect on what he and Saiyah had discussed earlier.

Slipping out of his window to avoid more confrontations with his parents, he climbed down the roof and hopped onto the grass. He walked to the sand-covered sidewalk and pocketed his hands, studying the ground carefully. The sun was finally beginning to fade behind the houses and trees of the island. He lived within walking distance of everyone's house; Sora, Kairi, Tidus, Selphie. The only downside was that he didn't always want to _see _the people he lived near. Selphie, for example, who was trotting towards her house, which was only about five houses down from Riku's.

Had he been in his right mind, Riku would've noticed immediately and turned around. Spare him the romance stories of the island, please! She spotted him before he even heard her off-key humming. The poor teen only had time to hear a very squeaky and excited "RIKU!" before the small girl was latched around his waist, toppling him backwards. He looked at her awkwardly and tried to peel her off, but she just squeezed his stomach tighter. "Selphie.." he groaned, trying now to scoot backwards and push her off. "Let **_go_**, Selphie, I'm busy!" he lied in an attempt to get away. She didn't buy into it so easily, however. "Riku, you never talk to me anymore! Now, I'm not letting go unless you say I can walk with you," she told him, placing her chin on his stomach and looking up at him innocently.

He groaned again, knowing that it was a lose/lose situation. He could either refuse to talk to her and have her cling and whine until he said otherwise, or just agree and listen to her yammer on for what could be hours. "Fine. You can walk with me, as long as you don't cling, promise?"

"Promise!" she said, hopping to her feet energetically in a salute. "Now, get up, silly! Where are you going anyway?"

_'Shit, what did I just agree to..?'_

* * *

Thankfully, the hyperactive squirrel wasn't too terribly awful. She was hard to shut up, but once she calmed down a little, Riku was able to carry on a civil conversation with her. He was actually starting to enjoy the conversation, too. They were talking about how she had wanted a puppy for Christmas, but her parents wouldn't let her, "Because they think I'm too irresponsible for a pet, especially a dog. But Sora has a dog, and he's just as bad as I am. I don't think it's fair. What was your last Christmas like, Riku?" she asked, her words slurring together slightly. She talked really fast sometimes. 

"Oh, um.. It was alright, I guess. I mostly got clothes."

"Do you want a dog? Or maybe you like kitties. They're cute too. Don't'cha think they're cute, Riku?"

"Mmhmm. I like Gypsy though. She's a good dog. She listens to Sora." He chuckled slightly as Selphie went into detail about how she had to puppysit Gypsy because Sora and Saiyah had to go out of town, and how it was a nightmare because Gypsy wouldn't listen to a word she said.

"..and then Kairi-" she stopped cold and gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. "Kairi! Ooo! Riku, did you hear!"

Riku blinked, giving her an odd look. He didn't really mind talking about Kairi, but.. They had just been talking at this time last night. How much could've happened? So he shook his head.

"Sora and Kairi are together now!" she exploded, giggling insanely. "Isn't it cute! What do you think?"

_'Sora and Kairi! She couldn't've gotten to him that fast! That's impossible!'_

"Are you sure, Selph?" he asked, his brow furrowing. She couldn't be. She had probably just seen them talking or something.

"Yeah! They kissed and everything!"

Riku put a hand to his head and pushed his bangs away from his eyes. He was going to be sick, he could feel his stomach churning. "Selph, listen, I've got to go... It was nice talking. See you around.."

And Selphie suddenly had the feeling she had said something terribly wrong. What if Riku liked Kairi! Uh-oh.. She felt her face heat and her stomach sink. Something bad was going to happen now, she just knew it..

And she had been the one to let it all slip...

* * *

**End notes:** Read and Review my little munchkins! X's and O's to all my readers. I heart you all.

Selphie: Lover-birds, lover-birds! Coo, coo!

xD Heh..


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